Farmers deny fraud charges

Three west Cork farmers yesterday denied a series of charges, including conspiring to defraud the Department of Agriculture by deliberately introducing a BSE-infected cow into a herd in west Cork in 1996. Mr James Sutton, of Kilgarriffe House, Clonakilty, Mr Bryan Wilson, of Cool fada, Bandon, and Mr Andrew Wilson, of Kilpatrick, Bandon, appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.